Heavy In Your Arms
by WhyIsARavenLikeAWritingDesk
Summary: Bobby Drake and Kitty Pryde pay a visit to a woman who may just be in a relationship with their ex-comrade, John Allerdyce. The visit is to giver her a warning that Pyro's not all he seems to be. Will they Scare her off? Pyro/OC
1. Heavy In Your Arms

"_I was a heavy heart to carry  
>My beloved was weighed down<br>My arms around his neck  
>My fingers laced to crown<em>_"_

Bobby Drake and Kitty Pryde watched the young woman dance around the stage. She was definitely beautiful. She was taller than Bobby probably, maybe 6'0", with long auburn colored hair and a long willowy body. She seemed to flow across the stage, from the bass player to the drummer then to the front of the stage where she knelt and stood almost in the same movement. Her voice was just as enchanting as her appearance.

"_I was a heavy heart to carry  
>My feet dragged across ground<br>And he took me to the river  
>Where he slowly let me drown."<em>

Bobby and Kitty glanced at each other and under the dimmed and flashing lights he could make out that the other mutant was having the same thoughts as him. _This couldn't be the same person they were looking for._ The woman the professor had described was a broken woman who didn't like any kind of public interaction. From what they could tell, she didn't like people, human or mutant, at all.

"_My love has concrete feet  
>My love's an iron ball<br>Wrapped around your ankles  
>Over the waterfall<em>

_I'm so heavy, heavy  
>Heavy in your arms<br>I'm so heavy, heavy  
>Heavy in your arms."<em>

After the show was over; she gave a stunning, performance the two thought, Bobby and Kitty made their way backstage. Even though there was no guard, no one seemed to try and get behind the scenes. The two mutants slipped back behind the curtain and immediately noticed that they stood out. The crew that did everything not seen on stage was wearing white, and Bobby and Kitty were both clothed in dark colors. It wasn't even a minute before the two were spotted.

"_And is it worth the wait  
>All this killing time?<br>Are you strong enough to stand  
>Protecting both your heart and mine?"<em>

The man that approached them was obviously a mutant, with light blue skin and two sets of small horns growing out of either side of his head. He had a headset clasped over one ear, through which Bobby could hear loud talking, but was otherwise unoccupied. He looked them both over a few times, his upper lip curling in disgust.

"Okay, spill. What do you two want?" he demanded.

"We're here to see Isabella Winston," Bobby said.

"Oh, really?" the man snorted. "And what exactly do you want with Willoe?"

"Could you just go tell her we're here?" Kitty asked. "If she still says no, tell her Xavier sent us."

The man rolled his eyes, but spun on his heels to do as he was asked. He didn't return for several minutes, which worried Bobby, but Kitty told him to calm down. They waited another half hour.

"_Who is the betrayer?  
>Who's the killer in the crowd?<br>The one who creeps in corridors  
>And doesn't make a sound."<em>

Bobby was just about ready to give up when Kitty spotted the blue man rounding a corner and heading in their direction. He halted in front of them, sighed and said,

"She'll see you. But you better make it quick. She's got to get home to her family. Poor thing's not there enough. Well, come on. Don't just stand there looking all drab in your dark clothes."

He turned and led them the way he came.

"_My love has concrete feet  
>My love's an iron ball<br>Wrapped around your ankles  
>Over the waterfall."<em>

The two X-Men had expected the man to lead them to a small, cramped room where Isabella Winston quickly got ready before each of her shows, not the large, expansive and lavish room they were standing in now. The carpet was a plush red, the walls a starch white. Gold and red pillows littered the floor and the wide couches. There was not a mirror in sight, but neither was the young woman they were looking for.

"Make yourselves at home. Willoe will be with you in a moment; she probably went to drop her family a line and tell them she was going to be just a few minutes longer."

Bobby turned and asked, "What do you know about her family?"

"_My love has concrete feet  
>My love's an iron ball<br>Wrapped around your ankles  
>Over the waterfall<em>

_I'm so heavy, heavy  
>Heavy in your arms<br>I'm so heavy, heavy  
>So heavy in your arms."<em>

"Her family loves her," the man said firmly. "That's all I have to know."

He closed the door behind him.

Bobby and Kitty made themselves sit on the couch and try to relax. It wasn't long before the door opened again and Isabella "Willoe" Winston walked into the room. She was just as tall as Bobby had thought and she was wearing a pair of skinny jeans, a white t shirt and a familiar leather jacket. Bobby jumped to his feet, a polite habit his mother had nearly beat into him, but Isabella just motioned for him to sit down again. She sat across from the two mutants.

"Can you two tell me what in the world Charles Xavier wants from me and my family?" she asked, voice soft and graceful.

"My name is Bobby - "

"Bobby Drake. I know. And you're Kitty Pryde. What does Xavier want?"

"The professor asked us to deliver a warning to you. He says he knows about your relationship with St. John Allerdyce and he wants you to know what kind of person he is," Kitty said.

"Let me get this straight," Isabella said. "Charles Xavier sent you all the way from New York to Nevada to warn me about a relationship with a man he thinks might be going on."

"That's about right," Bobby said dryly.

"And how long have I been in this supposed relationship?"

"A few months, I guess," Bobby said.

"_This will be my last confession  
>I love you never felt like any blessing<br>(Ohhhh)  
>Whispering like it's a secret<br>Only to condemn the one who hears it  
>With a heavy heart.<em>

_Heavy heavy I'm so heavy in your arms  
>(I'm so) Heavy heavy I'm so heavy in your arms<br>(I'm so) Heavy heavy I'm so heavy in your arms  
>(I'm so) Heavy heavy I'm so heavy in your arms."<em>

Isabella nearly fell over in a fit of laughter.

"It's not really a thing to laugh at," Kitty said defensively. "John's dangerous. He's not a good person. John's Brotherhood. He's killed a bunch of people!"

"Forty-two," Isabella said, sobering.

"Excuse me?" Kitty said.

"John has killed forty-two people in his time with the Brotherhood."

Both the mutant's jaws fell a bit at this new piece of information.

"Oh? You didn't know this? It looks to me like you two need to get all the facts from Xavier before going off to do his bidding. What else didn't he tell you, I wonder," Isabella frowned. "Did he tell you that John turned himself in? That he served a few months before getting out on probation for snitching out the worst members of the Brotherhood? No, he didn't tell you that either; not from the looks on your faces."

"John wouldn't turn himself in," Bobby said coldly.

Isabella drew a card out of her jacket pocket and placed it on the table between them.

"My address is on that card. John and I will be home tomorrow, you've got two choices: you can either ignore this and go back to your mansion and pretend that you never heard a word I've said, or you can stop by and let me tell you the rest of the story, the whole story, that your precious Xavier won't tell you. It's up to you."

She stood and opened the door.

"I'm going home to my family now," Isabella said. "You two have a good night."

"_I was a heavy heart to carry  
>my beloved was weighed down<br>My arms around his neck  
>My fingers laced to crown<em>

_I was a heavy heart to carry  
>But he never let me down<br>When he had me in his arms  
>My feet never touched the ground."<em>

Bobby stood alone outside the small house probably longer than necessary. The place was homey, not some place he could see his ex-best friend living. The paneling was white and the roof and shutters were both dark blue. The grass could probably due with a good cutting, but other than that the house was very well kept. With a final decision, Bobby walked up the front steps of the porch and knocked on the door.

"_I'm so heavy, heavy in your arms._

_Heavy, I'm so heavy in your arms."_


	2. Kiss With A Fist

The door to reveal a tousled looking Isabelle Winston. She wore a white wife beater, a pair of tight jeans, and last night's make up was smudged under her eyes.

"You know, I didn't actually think you would show up," she said. She opened the door wider and said, "Come in. John's down in the basement."

Bobby stepped into the house, hesitantly, and closed the door behind him. The living room just beyond the door was neat, with a splash of both modern and antique furniture and paintings, but it didn't look bad. Bobby could see a corner of the kitchen peeking out from behind a wall.

"C'mon," Isabelle said, ushering him towards a door. "You caught us at our usual naptime, but I don't think they'll mind."

"They?" Bobby questioned.

"Yeah, they. John and Gale."

She grabbed Bobby's jacket, almost flinging him down the stairs beyond. He caught himself on the rail and continued down with only gentle prodding.

"I feel like I'm being kidnapped," Bobby muttered.

"Oh, please," Isabelle said. "If you were being kidnapped, you'd never know it."

"That makes me feel safe."

"It should," she said, pushing him down the last few steps.

The basement was dim, but not so much that Bobby couldn't see anything. There were two couches, both looking well loved, a small table in the corner and various instruments laying around the room. Bobby spotted two guitars and a trumpet before he was pulled back to the present. Isabelle flipped on a few more dim lights and Bobby was able to see why the place was so quiet. John lay on one of the couches with an arm thrown over his eyes and a small child sleeping on his chest.

Bobby had to stop and blink a few times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. Isabelle bent over and ran her fingers through John's blonde-brown hair, whispering, "John, sweetheart. You've got to wake up. We've got company."

"I'm not moving," John groaned.

"So don't move," Isabelle rolled her eyes. "But you have to wake up."

"Fine."

John moved his arm and began to rub his eyes. Blinking slowly, the pyro lifted himself up on his elbows, trying not to disturb the small girl on his chest. John looked around and sighed, "Hell, Isabelle. It's only Bobby. Why the fuck did you wake me up?"

"John!" Isabelle scolded quietly.

"She's asleep," John insisted.

"Well put her on the couch and come upstairs. We're gonna talk."

"Talk or _talk_," John asked warily.

"We're gonna move our mouths and have words come out. Get up."

"Bitch," John mumbled.

"Slut," Isabelle shot back.

Bobby watched the exchange and didn't know what to say. This wasn't the John he had known. John shifted slightly and put the girl on the couch. He stretched his arms over his head and bent backwards until his back popped several times. He turned to the near stranger standing with Isabelle and said, "C'mon, Bobby. I don't want to wake Gale up."

"She's so got you whipped," Isabelle muttered, heading up the stairs behind the two men.

"She's my kid. I don't mind."

Bobby stopped in his tracks in the middle of the living room.

"She's you kid?" he asked.

"Bobby, relax," Isabelle said. "There's a lot Xavier hasn't told you."

"I know," he said. "I just… I just wasn't expecting that."

"There's probably a lot you're not going to expect," John said, falling into the couch.

"Can I get you anything, Bobby?" Isabelle asked.

"No, thank you," Bobby said.

Isabelle practically pushed him down into a seat then collapsed next to John.

"Where do we start?" she asked the pyro.

He shrugged. "What did you tell him last night?"

"Not much," Isabelle said.

"Start at the beginning then."

Isabelle nodded. Bobby watched them go back and forth for a moment more before Isabelle turned to him and said, "Let's get the shocking things out of the way. John and I are married; Gale is our daughter. I'm a mutant too. Um, Magneto is my great uncle. John has served time because he sold out the Brotherhood."

John grunted in disagreement.

Isabelle mended the statement: "John sold out the worst of the Brotherhood: slavers, rapists, murders, psychos. Those people."

Bobby nodded.

"I'm not some stupid kid anymore, Bobby. I know I shouldn't have run off with Magneto, but I can't really say I regret it. I have a family because of it," John said quietly. "Magneto didn't have it right, but neither did Xavier. We've been duped by both sides. I know more about what's been going on in the last six years now than when I was involved. It's not as simple of a war as you think it is."

"So fill me in," Bobby said.

John nodded and cleared his throat.

"When I left Xavier's it wasn't because I felt alone. It was because I felt useless. I was a Class Five mutant forced to watch from the sidelines. Xavier and his X-Men, they never saw _me_. All they saw was some hotheaded, hormonal teenager who didn't want anything more than to fight. I wanted to fight, but it was because that was the only way I knew to help. So I left to join Magneto. He's a charismatic old bastard. Talked me into doing a lot of things I never would have done, if I had been in my right mind.

"There were a lot of things that looked like accidents. A few things that made national news. It wasn't until you froze my ass at Alcatraz that I really stopped to think about what I had been doing. I regret a lot of things."

The house grew earily quiet and Bobby eventually had to look up to see if John was still awake. Isabelle patted his knee and he continued.

"I met Isabelle in Chicago. Magneto had sent me and a few others to "scout talent" as he called it. Jamie and I had gotten into a fight one night; he had come back to the hotel drunk and was just being stupid. I had to leave, just to get out of there. I wandered down to the south side of Chicago and ended up in this bar. Business was slow and it was the kind of place where you wouldn't be recognized."

"It was a shitty bar," Isabelle said. "We get it."

John chuckled. "Isabelle was the bar maid. She was working to pay off a college loan. I figured she was under aged, I was under aged, so we wouldn't have a problem," John grimaced.

"We had a problem," Isabelle laughed.

"You broke my jaw," John growled.

"You were in the way," was all Isabelle said in way of explination.

"Anyway," John said, turning back to Bobby. "There was a bar fight, Isabelle broke my jaw, I blamed it on Jamie. He was too drunk to remember anything and there was no way I was telling Magneto I got beat up by a human girl. Wasn't until later she told me she wasn't human."

"He didn't talk to me for weeks," Isabelle sighed.

"My jaw was wired closed," John ground out.

Bobby laughed at the two; they were just some couple in his eyes now. Isabelle was a good person and it even seemed like he and John could be friends again.

"So what is your power?" the cryokinetic asked.

"I'm a Tank," Isabelle said.

"A Tank?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah. I'm indestructible. Super strength. Stuff like along those lines."

Bobby whistled and sat back in his chair. "I see why she broke your jaw."

"Ha ha," John snipped.

Bobby paused in his reply when he heard a faint shout of 'Mama'.

"That's Gale," Isabelle said, leaving the couch. "She's probably wondering where the hell we are."

The woman disappeared down the basement stairs.

"Did you ever get the letter about our wills?" John asked quietly.

"No," Bobby said shocked.

"I guess that's another thing Xavier kept from you," John sighed. "When Isabelle got pregnant the first time, we thought a lot about who would be their guardian if something happened to us. We finally decided on you."

"Me? Why me?"

"Because you're my best friend, Bobby, and I knew you'd never let my child be treated unfairly or unkindly just because they were mine."

Bobby was stunned that John still had that kind of faith in him.

"Wait," Bobby said, realizing what John had said. "The first time Isabelle got pregnant?"

John nodded. "She miscarried. Said it runs in her family. But ot see that reality crash through her." John shook his head, "It nearly broke us both."

There was a silence Bobby was hesitant to break, but Isabelle did it for him when she stepped back into the room with a small blonde child on her hip.

"Bobby, this is Gale," Isabelle said. "Gale say hello to Bobby."

The blonde looked at him through John's chocolate brown eyes and waved shyly.

"Hi, Gale," Bobby said quietly.

Isabelle sat the girl on her feet, "Go sit with Daddy, yeah? I'll go get your juice."

Gale walked over and climbed into John's lap. Bobby still found it a bit weird, seeing John as a father, but he figured that would change. Gale turned her brown eyes to the X-Man once she was tucked into her father's side.

"Po?" she asked.

"Um," Bobby stuttered, turning to John for help.

The pyrokinetic laughed. "She wants to know if you have any powers. 

Bobby blinked, then cupped his hands together and blew into them. When he opened his fingers and held them out to Gale, a flower of ice and snow rested lightly in his palm. Gale squeeled in delight and reached out for the flower.

"Careful," John warned his daughter.

Bobby handed the two year old the flower and smiled, delighted himself to be able to make the girl happy. Isabelle laughed from the doorway. It wasn't until later that night, when Bobby had been convinced to stay on the couch, that he realized he was happier than he had been in a long time.


	3. Cosmic Love

"_A falling star _

_Fell from your heart_

_And landed in my eyes._

_I screamed aloud_

_As it tore through them_

_And now it's left me blind."_

Bobby paused as he heard the familiar voice sound through one of the doors of the mansion. He turned and knocked on the door, almost not realizing that it was Rouge and Kitty's room. Kitty was the one to open the door and Bobby asked,

"What are you listening to?"

"Isabelle Winston," Kitty blushed. "I bought one of her CDs when we went to go talk to her. Even if she knows John, she's a pretty good singer."

_The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out_

_You left me in the dark_

_No dawn, no day, I'm always in this twilight_

_In the shadow of your heart_

_And in the dark, I can hear your heartbeat_

_I tried to find the sound_

_But then, it stopped, and I was in the darkness,_

_So darkness I became_

Bobby sighed. He had never told anyone what had happened when he went to see John and Isabelle. Kitty returned to the mansion without him and all anyone knew was that he spent those two weeks in Nevada. Bobby looked Kitty in the eye,

"Are you ever going to ask about the night I went to see them?"

"No," Kitty said, eyes darkening.

"If you ever wonder about it, come find me," Bobby said icily.

He left Kitty standing in the bedroom doorway. Kitty sighed and closed the door kind of roughly, flopping down on her bed.

"Was that Bobby?" Rouge asked, looking up from her homework.

"Yeah," Kitty said.

"What did he want?" the girl asked, curious to why her boyfriend had stopped by.

"He wanted to know where I got my CD," was all Kitty said.

Rouge sighed and put her pen down. She stacked her homework in a neat pile then joined Kitty on her bed.

"What's wrong?"

_The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out  
>You left me in the dark<br>No dawn, no day, I'm always in this twilight  
>In the shadow of your heart<em>

Kitty sighed herself and asked, "Did Bobby ever tell you about the two weeks he spent in Nevada?"

"No," Rouge said. "I know the Professor sent you two out there for something, but that's it."

"The Professor sent me and Bobby out to Nevada to talk to a woman named Isabelle Winston," Kitty began. "She was preforming at a concert and Bobby and I had to wait backstage until she was done. We waited a while and when we finally got to talk to her, she wasn't anything like we expected."

"Why did you have to go talk to her in the first place?" Rouge asked.

"Professor Xavier received some information that Isabelle might be in a relationship with Pyro, John. He sent us to make sure that she wasn't being duped into thinking that he's someone he's not."

Rouge's eyes were wide.

"He sent you to disrupt this woman's life on the mere suspicion that she might be involved with John?"

"We didn't think anything of it," Kitty shrugged.

"So what happened?" Rouge asked.

"Isabelle knew everything we knew about John. More, even. She knew about the Brotherhood and that John had killed a few people."

"Wait, what has this got to do with Bobby disappearing?" Rouge asked.

"Isabelle said she was really tired that night. She said that we could stop by her house if we wanted the whole story. I think that's where Bobby went."

"Why didn't you go with him?"

"John left us for the Brotherhood. I don't want anything to do with him."

"Kitty," Rouge sighed. "You have to understand that John made his decision for his own reasons. His life here at the mansion wasn't exactly perfect. Bobby was his only friend; none of the teachers liked him much. Cyclops and Logan especially."

"So that means just runs off with Magneto the first chance he gets?" Kitty asked sitting up.

"It's because Magneto could give John something we never could," a voice said from the doorway.

Neither of the girls had heard Bobby return and enter the room.

"What couldn't we give him?" Kitty asked harshly. "We all tried to be his friend; to watch his back. And he just left us!"

_I took the stars from our eyes, and then I made a map  
>And knew that somehow I could find my way back<br>Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too  
>So I stayed in the darkness with you<em>

Bobby shook his head and sank onto Rouge's bed on the opposite side of the room.

Understanding," the man said. "We couldn't give him understanding."

"What didn't we understand?" Kitty asked, rising to her feet.

"Calm down," Rouge said, pulling the other girl back down on the bed.

"John comes from a broken home," Bobby said. "We never understood that despite his power, John still felt helpless. Magneto understands that more than we ever could."

"How do you know?" Rouge asked quietly.

"I spent two weeks with Isabelle and John; Erik visited a few days to make sure they were doing alright. He does that often apparently."

"So Magneto _understands_ him," Kitty said. "So what?"

"When John was six he watched his father beat his mother. His mother defended herself with a shotgun. He, his mother, and his little sister spent the next five years running," Bobby said.

"I didn't know John had a sister," Rouge muttered.

"She was two when they started running," Bobby continued. "When he was eleven, they were living on the streets in Chicago. Someone tried to attack them for an extra blanket they had and his mother stabbed the guy. When he kept coming, John's lighter blew up in his hands and cooked the guy alive."

"So? I understand that," Kitty said. "My powers scared me too."

"No, you don't understand, Kitty. You fell through a floor, John killed somebody. You pity him, not understand him. You think you can fix him, make him better just because he's your friend."

"I don't pity him!" Kitty nearly shouted.

"Yes you do," Bobby said firmly. "You think that if someone doesn't fit into one of your circles on organization, then they need to be 'fixed'."

"What's your point?" Kitty snarled.

_The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out  
>You left me in the dark<br>No dawn, no day, I'm always in this twilight  
>In the shadow of your heart<em>

"My point is that John may have made some mistakes, but he's learned from them and he wouldn't have what he has if he hadn't."

"And what does he have that's so great?"

"A family," Bobby said cryptically.

Kitty was speechless. Rouge just sighed.

_The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out  
>You left me in the dark<br>No dawn, no day, I'm always in this twilight  
>In the shadow of your heart<em>

* * *

><p>Bobby sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose to try and stop the oncoming headache. His cell phone vibrated and the iceman had to stop to pull it out of his shoe. He flipped it open and read the message.<p>

_From: John_

_We're in town. Gale wants you._

Bobby was quick to reply.

_To: John_

_Where are you?_

The reply came almost instantly and Bobby had to laugh.

_From: John_

_In the damn driveway. Get out here._

Bobby tucked the phone back into his sneaker and headed downstairs. He caught Storm in the kitchen.

"Storm," Bobby said. "I'm going out for a bit, alright?"

"Sure," she agreed. "Where are you going?"

"No idea," Bobby grinned.

The iceman dashed off before Storm could protest. By the time Bobby reached the driveway, a sleek red 2010 Camaro had drawn the attention of a bunch of students.

And, unfortunately, Logan.

The Wolverine was watching from only a short distance away and when he spotted Bobby he beckoned the iceman over.

"Who's car?" Logan growled.

"Isabelle Winston's," Bobby said. "She's a friend of mine."

"It smells like ash," Wolverine grumbled.

"So? Isabelle has a cigarette from time to time," Bobby lied, thanking whoever would listen that the windows were too tinted to see through.

"If you say so, kid," the man snuffed.

Bobby walked to the car, hoping that John had slid into the back so the iceman could slip into the car without suspicion. Bobby popped open the car door and slid in to the empty passenger seat.

"Hi, Bobby," Isabelle said from the driver's side.

"Took you long enough to get here," John said from the back seat.

"Only cause Logan stopped me," Bobby said.

"What did he want?" John asked, suddenly serious.

"He just wanted to know who was in the car. I told him it was my good friend Isabelle Winston," Bobby explained.

"You know that's not my name," Isabelle chided.

"It's what the cover of your CD says," Bobby said smugly.

Isabelle blushed, trying to back out of the driveway.

"Shut up."

"Flowa! Flowa!" a small voice said.

Bobby turned further in his seat to see Gale strapped into a car seat.

"Hi, Gale," Bobby said sweetly. "Is she ever going to stop calling me Flower?"

"Probably not," John said.

"Where are we going?" the iceman asked once they were out on the open road.

"Isabelle's playing in Central Park tonight," John said. "I'm not going alone."

"So you decided to kidnap me?" Bobby joked.

"What did I tell you?" Isabelle asked. "If you were being kidnapped-"

"I'd never know it. I know. You worry me when you talk you like that."

"She should," John said.

Bobby rolled his eyes and relaxed back into his seat.

"Wait," he said. "What are you going to do with Gale?"

"She's going with us," Isabelle said. "She always does."

"Oh. You guys aren't worried she'll get hurt?"

"What?" John asked. "You expect us to be out in the crowd? Not on your life. Isabelle's fans are crazy."

"Not as crazy as your fans," Isabelle smirked.

Bobby's eyebrows shot into his hairline.

"You have _fans_?" he asked John.

"He sure does," Isabelle said smugly.

"_Why?"_

"We played a concert in Los Angeles about a year ago. My bass player, Jordie, was sick, so John filled in for him. Some of the girls in the crowd thought John was the hottest thing since sliced bread."

By this time Isabelle was laughing as she told the story. John was sulking in the back.

"They've followed us to every concert since, hoping that John will fill in again."

Bobby couldn't help himself and doubled over as far as his seatbelt would let him in laughter.

"Yeah, yeah," John growled. "Laugh it up and see if I don't toast your ass."

"Not in my car, you won't," Isabelle said.


	4. Blinding

"Why is everything so loud?" Bobby asked over the music. He was thankful that Gale was wearing earplugs.

"Because it's a concert, Bobby," John said. "Besides, this is just a sound check."

"It gets louder," Isabelle said.

The four made their way backstage, and Bobby sighed in relief when the band on stage stopped playing. Isabelle ushered Bobby onto the stage and called the attention of the players.

"Hey, guys. This is Bobby Drake. He's John's best friend, so if you see him wandering backstage, just leave him alone."

"We can't rough him up a bit?" the drummer asked.

"No," Isabelle said. "He has the Gale Stamp of Approval."

All the people on stage suddenly seemed to view him in a new light.

"Gale has a stamp of approval?" he asked quietly.

"Yep. It's very respected among the band and stage crew."

Bobby nodded.

"So," Isabelle continued on, "this is Jordie, our bass player, Rabbit, our drummer, Harry and Huble, our forwards, and Jewel – where's Jewel?"

Jordie winced and said, "Jewel ain't gonna make it, Isabelle."

"Why?"

"She's, well, she's in the Emergency Room. She's, ah hell, Jewel's pregnant and she's having a bit of a freak out."

Everybody, excluding Isabelle, stared at Jordie like he had grown a second head.

"I knew about the pregnant part. What's she freaking out about?"

"Well her brother found out and had a bit of an episode and, you know Jamie, if you don't sedate him, he gets to pulling apart."

"We talking about Jamie's episode?" John asked from behind Bobby.

"You knew?" Isabelle asked.

"Just got the call from Jewel. She said Jamie's fine; it wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be."

"Good," Isabelle sighed.

"She also said to tell Jordie that it's a boy."

Jordie beamed and Huble clapped him on the back.

"Just wait 'til Jamie finds out that you're the one that knocked up his baby sister," John smirked.

Jordie paled and the smile dropped from his face.

"Don't go stirring up trouble, John," Isabelle instructed.

"Yes, dear," he said slyly.

"Alright, go," she pushed John and Bobby off the stage. "Go get Abigale and go get something to eat and don't come back until the show starts. If I find you lurking backstage before then you're not getting any for a month. Well, Bobby, you're not getting any at all."

John snorted and dragged Bobby off to collect gale. Once the three of them were headed out of Central Park, Bobby asked,

"So Jewel is Jamie's younger sister?"

"Yeah."

"I thought Jamie didn't talk to his family."

"He's he half brother. Jamie has four siblings and none of them are fully related, if that tells you anything. Jewel is the only other one that's a mutant."

"I guess I understand that."

"No you don't. you still talk to your brother. Your brother just doesn't talk to you."

"Ronnie doesn't speak to anyone in the family anymore. As soon as he turned eighteen, he moved out and hasn't looked back. Last I heard he was living in a really bad area of L.A. dealing crack."

"Sorry ,man," John sighed. "Didn't mean to bring that up."

"It's alright. How's your sister?"

"Harlem is working as a photographer in Boston. She's got an apartment, lives with a co-worker. She's having a bit of trouble with a guy at work, but if she decks him, she won't get fired. If worse come to worse, I offered to fry the guy."

"You would, too. Anything for family."

"Anything for family," John agreed.

"Famee!" Gale agreed.

John tossed his daughter up over his shoulder and she laughed.


End file.
